All posts tagged entertainment

The Hong Kong musician-turned-actress, Ivana Wong, made her big-screen debut last year in “Golden Chickensss,” the third installment of the movie series, which features the life of a good-natured prostitute in modern-day Hong Kong. The comedy went on to become the highest-grossing local film of 2014.

Ms. Wong began her music career a decade ago with her self-titled debut album, “Ivana.” She’s released several more albums over the years and also appeared in theater productions. Those stage performances eventually opened the door for opportunities in film and television. Ms. Wong spoke with China Real Time about her transition into her new acting career. Read More »

Comedian Joe Wong is a rare breed – someone who’s managed to tickle funny bones on both sides of the Pacific after abandoning a successful career in the sciences. The funnyman grew up in a rural part of northeast China, went to the U.S. for a Ph.D. and now bills himself as the “All-American Immigrant.” He has done stand-up comedy on TV show Late Night with David Letterman and the Ellen DeGeneres Show and has roasted U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at the 2010 Radio and Television Correspondents dinner. Known in China as Huang Xi, he has his own weekly TV show here, wrote a book about his experiences in China and America and still finds time to do stand-up comedy. China Real Time caught up with the busy entertainer to discuss his style of humor, the future of stand-up comedy in China and his next projects. Read More »

Like many Americans on Oscar night, I’m looking to partake of some Hollywood glamour: I’ll be at an upscale bar sipping Champagne as the stars line the red carpet and the winners are announced. But in Hong Kong, where I live and work, it will be Monday morning. Read More »

Stories set in contemporary China dominated the year in Asian movies, with both commercial and art-house films exploring ever-more-complicated modern life. Comedies are the genre du jour in China, with “Breakup Buddies,” about two friends in full middle-age crisis mode and with little else but women on their minds (yes, it’s as crude as it sounds) becoming the year’s biggest domestic hit, pulling in nearly $190 million, according to media-research firm EntGroup.

Contemporary dramas from India and Japan, although less flashy, also gained attention — and top prizes — at major film festivals, while an epic from South Korea about a 16th-century naval battle was the country’s biggest domestic hit ever.

Universal Parks & Resorts is opening a 20 billion yuan ($3.26 billion) theme park in Beijing, the latest in a spate of multibillion-dollar amusement parks planned by foreign and domestic companies to tap what they hope will be an emerging industry. Read More »

Internet-driven TV shows are intensifying an already expensive arms race by Chinese Internet companies to draw viewers and advertising dollars away from traditional state-run TV broadcasters, as well as each other. Read More »

Vienna Teng excelled in school in the U.S., where she majored in computer science, and went on to become a software programmer in Silicon Valley. But unsatisfied with following such a standard path for the academically geared Asian American student, she quit in 2002 to become a singer. Read More »

Expert Insight

China’s territorial ambitions in the East and South China seas are by now well-documented. Much less understood is one of the key factors in the country’s ability to realize those ambitions: an increasingly well-funded and capable maritime militia.

The U.S. has been urging allies to steer clear of Asia's new China-led infrastructure investment bank. Robert Zoellick, former president of the World Bank, calls that approach mistaken on multiple levels.

Can legal reform and Communist Party control coexist in a way that will benefit Chinese governance and society?This is the question that confronts the country in the wake of its annual legislative gathering.

China's just-concluded legislative sessions seem to be another example of the deinstitutionalization of politics under Xi Jinping. Months from now, these meetings won’t be seen as harbingers of reform, so much as another lost opportunity, writes CRT analyst Russell Moses.

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